Blood of Enemies, Blood of Friends
Chapter 25 - Destined to Be Together
Xander woke late the following morning alone in his bed. 'I wonder if I will ever stop dreaming bout her,' he thought. 'That was so vivid, I really thought she was alive and here with me again.'
Xander shook his head, got out of bed, and walked toward the bathroom. He nearly tripped over his own feet, when he heard her voice. "Good, you're awake. Willow was just giving me some clothes to wear today."
"You really are here," Xander said with an awestruck look on his face.
"I really am," Anya replied.
Xander swept her into his arms and carried her back to his bed.
****************
A few hours later Xander lead Anya out down to the Great Hall for lunch. He introduced her to several of the teachers, before leading her to a seat beside him. As they began to eat, Professor Dumbledore entered. He stopped beside Anya. "Professor Dumbledore, this is Anya Jenkins."
Professor Dumbledore took her hand. "We have met before, though Miss Jenkins may not remember, as it was quite a few years ago."
"Hello, Albus. How could I not remember the only man to convince me to reverse a wish - other Xander of course?"
"Anya, you knew about the wizarding world? You know Professor Dumbledore?" Xander had a million questions.
"Well of course I know about the wizarding world. I was a part of it before becoming a vengeance demon. Of course, Hogwarts wasn't founded until about fifty years after D'Hoffryn offered to make me a demon. I met Albus about fifty years ago, when a student here required my services. I turned the student who scorned her into a mountain troll just like Olaf. Professor Dumbledore found me at a pub in Hogsmeade. After several rounds of fire whiskey, he convinced me to reverse the wish. I never granted a wish of a witch again. I rationalized it by telling myself that a witch can inflict her own vengeance, but in truth I was embarrassed that Albus had gotten me to reverse the wish."
Dumbledore laughed, as Anya explained everything to Xander. He could just shake his head. "You never cease to amaze me," he told Anya.
"Mr. Harris, might I suggest that you take the afternoon off and escort Miss Jenkins to Hogsmeade. I am sure that she requires some personal items," said Dumbledore, before excusing himself and taking his seat.
"It always amazes me how much that man knows," commented Xander, shaking his head. "Harry and Ron warned me that nothing goes on at Hogwarts that Dumbledore doesn't know about."
"Harry and Ron were two of the kids from last night, right?" asked Anya. Xander nodded. "Those two and the girl with the bushy hair remind me of you, Willow, and Buffy, when you were back in high school."
"The girl with the bushy hair is named Hermione," said Xander.
"Well I am glad to see that Ron and Hermione got together without anyone else getting scorned in the process, unlike you and Willow. Though then again, if you hadn't scorned Cordelia, then you never would have gotten the chance to scorn me."
"Anya, I did not scorn you. I never stopped loving you. I was just young and scared. It was never about you and always about me," Xander tried to explain. He wondered how they had so quickly gotten back to this same conversation.
Anya shook her head. "It doesn't matter. The point I was going to make is that Ron will never scorn Hermione. There are very few men in the world that I would say that about, but sometimes you can just tell that a couple is meant to be together. Although, I thought that we were that kind of couple. So, I could be wrong again."
Xander really did not want to talk about this. He had spent the past several months mourning the loss of the only woman he would ever love. Now that he had her back, he wanted nothing more than to start over, but he did not know how to tell her. Xander instead changed topics. "So, Anya, what about Dumbledore's idea? We can go down to Hogsmeade right after lunch and buy you some robes and other things that you will need here."
"Does this mean that you want me to stay here with you?" Anya asked.
"Of course, I want you to stay. I have thought about nothing else, since I lot you. Every day that has gone by I have thought about all the things I would do different, if you were here," Xander said, his voice heavy with emotion.
"Really? Like what?" she asked.
"Like I would do anything to keep you in my life," he replied.
"Do you still not want to marry me?" she asked.
'A direct attack,' Xander thought, 'but that directness is one of the qualities that I so love about her.' He spoke. "Anya, I never didn't want to marry you eventually. I was just scared that I was too young and not established enough to give you everything you deserve. When I lost you, I realized that I should never have let my fears get in the way. I thought we had our whole lives ahead of us. Obviously I was wrong."
Anya smiled at Xander, and then began to devour her lunch. She had not had such a variety of food since the Death Eaters brought her back. Her daily meal in her cell consisted of little more than bread and water.
****************
After lunch Xander took Anya to Hogsmeade. As they entered one of the shops that specialized in wizarding robes, Anya turned to him. "Xander, I don't have any money."
"That's ok. I do. Hogwarts pays their caretaker fairly well, especially considering that I get room and board."
"I was actually thinking that maybe we could floo to Diagon Alley," commented Anya. "I have an account at Gringotts from almost one thousand years ago. With interest there must be a ton of money in there by now." She looked at some of the robes hanging in front of her. "Besides, Madame Malkins always has a much bigger selection than this, and I would very much like to get a wand. My old one got left behind, when Sunnydale was sucked into the hellmouth"
"Ok," replied Xander, as he led her out of the store and to the town's public floo connection. "We can stop and see Fred and George at their joke shop too. I haven't gotten the chance to see those two since we left for Hogwarts."
"Who are Fred and George?" Anya asked.
"They're two of Ron's brothers. They're really funny. You'll like them."
Anya and Xander took the floo network to Diagon Alley. Their first stop was at Gringotts to withdrawal money from Anya's account. Xander never thought that it was possible for a goblin to look flustered. However, the goblin that helped them got immediately flustered, when he realized the amount of wealth that Anya possessed. Nearly one thousand years of interest could really add up.
After withdrawing several hundred galleons and exchanging some of them for muggle money, Anya and Xander wandered through the Leaky Cauldron and onto the streets of London. Anya decided that it would make the most sense to purchase muggle clothing first and then return to Diagon Alley for wizarding clothing and a wand. They went to several department stores, and both were carrying several bags of clothing for Anya, when they returned to the Leaky Cauldron.
Upon entering Diagon Alley again, Anya led Xander to Madame Malkins Robes for Every Occasion. They entered the store, and Anya climbed onto a small raised platform. A charmed tape measure took her measurements. Madame Malkin then led Anya to the racks of robes that were in her size. "I always loved how brightly colored wizarding robes are," Anya commented as she began pulling several from the racks. "This can be more fun than shopping for muggle clothing." Anya spent nearly an hour trying on several different styles of robes. Xander did not complain. He was reveling in watching her, spinning and showing him each robe.
After paying for Anya's new robes, she and Xander walked to Ollivanders to purchase a wand. The older man greeted them, as they entered the store. "Good afternoon." Mr. Ollivander looked at Xander. "Ah yes, I remember you. You are a friend of the Slayers." Mr. Ollivander looked at Anya. "Are you a Slayer, my dear?" he asked.
Anya shook her head. "No, I am an ex-vengeance demon." Mr. Ollivander took a step back. "But don't worry, I'm human again. I was a witch 1100 years ago, before becoming a vengeance demon. My wand though was recently lost, when the town I lived in was sucked into a hellmouth. So, I need a new wand." Anya explained all this, as if it were an everyday occurrence.
Mr. Ollivander pulled out several boxes. He removed a wand from the first box and handed it to Anya. "Eleven inches, ash with the hair of a unicorn." Anya flicked the wand, and the counter burst into flames. Mr. Ollivander extinguished the fire and handed a different wand to Anya. The results were equally catastrophic. After trying several more wands, Anya found the one for her. It was ten inches, rosewood with the heartstring of a dragon at the core.
Xander led Anya to Weasley Wizard Wheezes. They entered the shop to see both twins standing behind the counter. "Whatever you do, don't eat anything they offer you," Xander whispered to Anya as he led her to the counter.
"Oy, Xander, long time no see," said Fred.
"What brings you to Diagon Alley," added George.
"And, who is this beautiful woman?" questioned Fred.
"This is Anya." Xander introduced her to the twins. "We are here buying her some robes and things. I thought maybe you two would like to have dinner with us, when you close up."
"I thought you said she died," said George.
"Long story," commented Xander. "So, what do you two say to dinner at the Leaky Cauldron?"
"I was supposed to meet Angelina," said Fred, "but she wanted to meet you. So, I'll ask her if she would mind having dinner with you." Fred walked to the back of the store and knelt in front of the fireplace.
"I had dinner plans with a friend of mine that we used to play quidditch with back at Hogwarts," explained George. We were just going to grab dinner at the Leaky Cauldron. So, I don't think he will mind if we grab dinner with you."
Fred walked back to the counter. "Angelina said she would love to have dinner with all of us."
****************
When Anya and Xander returned to Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore greeted them. "I see that Miss Emerson procured everything that she needs," he commented.
"Oh, yes, Albus, we did quite a bit of shopping. We then had dinner with two lovely couples," Anya replied.
Dumbledore chuckled. "I have never heard anyone use the word lovely, when describing Fred and George Weasley. Troublesome, devious, exasperating are words that were more often used to describe those two. Though they were incredible beaters on the Gryffindor house team, when they attended Hogwarts. I have only ever seen two beaters who topped the Weasley twins, and they are Miss Summers and Miss Crawford."
Dumbledore turned serious. "Miss Emerson, I would like to extend an invitation to you to stay at Hogwarts. Professor Giles has agreed that with your past experiences you would be invaluable as a teaching assistant in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Would you be interested in accepting the position?"
Anya smiled and threw her arms around the old headmaster. "I would love to stay and work with Giles. He would be much better professor than shopkeeper."
Dumbledore continued. "I believe that I would be able to coax the castle into creating another suit of rooms near your friends, if you would like. However, you are welcome to stay with Mr. Harris, if you would prefer."
"It depends on what Xander wants," replied Anya.
"I want whatever you do," said Xander.
"Then, Albus, I will be staying with Xander," Anya declared.
"Very well. Have a very good night," said Dumbledore, a twinkle in his eye. He took his leave of the young couple.
As Xander and Anya walked back to the Scooby common room, he thought about what she had said to Dumbledore. "Anya, what did you mean about dinner with two couples. Fred and Angelina are definitely together, but George and Oliver?"
"Why is it that men always have issues with gay couples? It is so obvious that George and Oliver are together. Fred and Angelina know, but I got the impression that the rest of their family doesn't have a clue. Anyway, it was really nice spending time with other couples. Angelina suggested that we have dinner with them again some time soon."
"So, does this mean that you think of us as a couple, even after everything?" Xander asked.
"Well, of course, I did agree to live with you again, didn't I," replied Anya. "Unless of course, you don't want me to. I did put you on the spot in front of Albus. If your feelings for me have changed, you should just say so."
Xander opened the door to his quarters and swept Anya into his arms, carrying her to his bed. "Anya, I will always love you. We are destined to be together."
"I love you too, Xander," she replied. "Can we give each other lots of orgasms now?"
Chapter 25 - Destined to Be Together
Xander woke late the following morning alone in his bed. 'I wonder if I will ever stop dreaming bout her,' he thought. 'That was so vivid, I really thought she was alive and here with me again.'
Xander shook his head, got out of bed, and walked toward the bathroom. He nearly tripped over his own feet, when he heard her voice. "Good, you're awake. Willow was just giving me some clothes to wear today."
"You really are here," Xander said with an awestruck look on his face.
"I really am," Anya replied.
Xander swept her into his arms and carried her back to his bed.
****************
A few hours later Xander lead Anya out down to the Great Hall for lunch. He introduced her to several of the teachers, before leading her to a seat beside him. As they began to eat, Professor Dumbledore entered. He stopped beside Anya. "Professor Dumbledore, this is Anya Jenkins."
Professor Dumbledore took her hand. "We have met before, though Miss Jenkins may not remember, as it was quite a few years ago."
"Hello, Albus. How could I not remember the only man to convince me to reverse a wish - other Xander of course?"
"Anya, you knew about the wizarding world? You know Professor Dumbledore?" Xander had a million questions.
"Well of course I know about the wizarding world. I was a part of it before becoming a vengeance demon. Of course, Hogwarts wasn't founded until about fifty years after D'Hoffryn offered to make me a demon. I met Albus about fifty years ago, when a student here required my services. I turned the student who scorned her into a mountain troll just like Olaf. Professor Dumbledore found me at a pub in Hogsmeade. After several rounds of fire whiskey, he convinced me to reverse the wish. I never granted a wish of a witch again. I rationalized it by telling myself that a witch can inflict her own vengeance, but in truth I was embarrassed that Albus had gotten me to reverse the wish."
Dumbledore laughed, as Anya explained everything to Xander. He could just shake his head. "You never cease to amaze me," he told Anya.
"Mr. Harris, might I suggest that you take the afternoon off and escort Miss Jenkins to Hogsmeade. I am sure that she requires some personal items," said Dumbledore, before excusing himself and taking his seat.
"It always amazes me how much that man knows," commented Xander, shaking his head. "Harry and Ron warned me that nothing goes on at Hogwarts that Dumbledore doesn't know about."
"Harry and Ron were two of the kids from last night, right?" asked Anya. Xander nodded. "Those two and the girl with the bushy hair remind me of you, Willow, and Buffy, when you were back in high school."
"The girl with the bushy hair is named Hermione," said Xander.
"Well I am glad to see that Ron and Hermione got together without anyone else getting scorned in the process, unlike you and Willow. Though then again, if you hadn't scorned Cordelia, then you never would have gotten the chance to scorn me."
"Anya, I did not scorn you. I never stopped loving you. I was just young and scared. It was never about you and always about me," Xander tried to explain. He wondered how they had so quickly gotten back to this same conversation.
Anya shook her head. "It doesn't matter. The point I was going to make is that Ron will never scorn Hermione. There are very few men in the world that I would say that about, but sometimes you can just tell that a couple is meant to be together. Although, I thought that we were that kind of couple. So, I could be wrong again."
Xander really did not want to talk about this. He had spent the past several months mourning the loss of the only woman he would ever love. Now that he had her back, he wanted nothing more than to start over, but he did not know how to tell her. Xander instead changed topics. "So, Anya, what about Dumbledore's idea? We can go down to Hogsmeade right after lunch and buy you some robes and other things that you will need here."
"Does this mean that you want me to stay here with you?" Anya asked.
"Of course, I want you to stay. I have thought about nothing else, since I lot you. Every day that has gone by I have thought about all the things I would do different, if you were here," Xander said, his voice heavy with emotion.
"Really? Like what?" she asked.
"Like I would do anything to keep you in my life," he replied.
"Do you still not want to marry me?" she asked.
'A direct attack,' Xander thought, 'but that directness is one of the qualities that I so love about her.' He spoke. "Anya, I never didn't want to marry you eventually. I was just scared that I was too young and not established enough to give you everything you deserve. When I lost you, I realized that I should never have let my fears get in the way. I thought we had our whole lives ahead of us. Obviously I was wrong."
Anya smiled at Xander, and then began to devour her lunch. She had not had such a variety of food since the Death Eaters brought her back. Her daily meal in her cell consisted of little more than bread and water.
****************
After lunch Xander took Anya to Hogsmeade. As they entered one of the shops that specialized in wizarding robes, Anya turned to him. "Xander, I don't have any money."
"That's ok. I do. Hogwarts pays their caretaker fairly well, especially considering that I get room and board."
"I was actually thinking that maybe we could floo to Diagon Alley," commented Anya. "I have an account at Gringotts from almost one thousand years ago. With interest there must be a ton of money in there by now." She looked at some of the robes hanging in front of her. "Besides, Madame Malkins always has a much bigger selection than this, and I would very much like to get a wand. My old one got left behind, when Sunnydale was sucked into the hellmouth"
"Ok," replied Xander, as he led her out of the store and to the town's public floo connection. "We can stop and see Fred and George at their joke shop too. I haven't gotten the chance to see those two since we left for Hogwarts."
"Who are Fred and George?" Anya asked.
"They're two of Ron's brothers. They're really funny. You'll like them."
Anya and Xander took the floo network to Diagon Alley. Their first stop was at Gringotts to withdrawal money from Anya's account. Xander never thought that it was possible for a goblin to look flustered. However, the goblin that helped them got immediately flustered, when he realized the amount of wealth that Anya possessed. Nearly one thousand years of interest could really add up.
After withdrawing several hundred galleons and exchanging some of them for muggle money, Anya and Xander wandered through the Leaky Cauldron and onto the streets of London. Anya decided that it would make the most sense to purchase muggle clothing first and then return to Diagon Alley for wizarding clothing and a wand. They went to several department stores, and both were carrying several bags of clothing for Anya, when they returned to the Leaky Cauldron.
Upon entering Diagon Alley again, Anya led Xander to Madame Malkins Robes for Every Occasion. They entered the store, and Anya climbed onto a small raised platform. A charmed tape measure took her measurements. Madame Malkin then led Anya to the racks of robes that were in her size. "I always loved how brightly colored wizarding robes are," Anya commented as she began pulling several from the racks. "This can be more fun than shopping for muggle clothing." Anya spent nearly an hour trying on several different styles of robes. Xander did not complain. He was reveling in watching her, spinning and showing him each robe.
After paying for Anya's new robes, she and Xander walked to Ollivanders to purchase a wand. The older man greeted them, as they entered the store. "Good afternoon." Mr. Ollivander looked at Xander. "Ah yes, I remember you. You are a friend of the Slayers." Mr. Ollivander looked at Anya. "Are you a Slayer, my dear?" he asked.
Anya shook her head. "No, I am an ex-vengeance demon." Mr. Ollivander took a step back. "But don't worry, I'm human again. I was a witch 1100 years ago, before becoming a vengeance demon. My wand though was recently lost, when the town I lived in was sucked into a hellmouth. So, I need a new wand." Anya explained all this, as if it were an everyday occurrence.
Mr. Ollivander pulled out several boxes. He removed a wand from the first box and handed it to Anya. "Eleven inches, ash with the hair of a unicorn." Anya flicked the wand, and the counter burst into flames. Mr. Ollivander extinguished the fire and handed a different wand to Anya. The results were equally catastrophic. After trying several more wands, Anya found the one for her. It was ten inches, rosewood with the heartstring of a dragon at the core.
Xander led Anya to Weasley Wizard Wheezes. They entered the shop to see both twins standing behind the counter. "Whatever you do, don't eat anything they offer you," Xander whispered to Anya as he led her to the counter.
"Oy, Xander, long time no see," said Fred.
"What brings you to Diagon Alley," added George.
"And, who is this beautiful woman?" questioned Fred.
"This is Anya." Xander introduced her to the twins. "We are here buying her some robes and things. I thought maybe you two would like to have dinner with us, when you close up."
"I thought you said she died," said George.
"Long story," commented Xander. "So, what do you two say to dinner at the Leaky Cauldron?"
"I was supposed to meet Angelina," said Fred, "but she wanted to meet you. So, I'll ask her if she would mind having dinner with you." Fred walked to the back of the store and knelt in front of the fireplace.
"I had dinner plans with a friend of mine that we used to play quidditch with back at Hogwarts," explained George. We were just going to grab dinner at the Leaky Cauldron. So, I don't think he will mind if we grab dinner with you."
Fred walked back to the counter. "Angelina said she would love to have dinner with all of us."
****************
When Anya and Xander returned to Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore greeted them. "I see that Miss Emerson procured everything that she needs," he commented.
"Oh, yes, Albus, we did quite a bit of shopping. We then had dinner with two lovely couples," Anya replied.
Dumbledore chuckled. "I have never heard anyone use the word lovely, when describing Fred and George Weasley. Troublesome, devious, exasperating are words that were more often used to describe those two. Though they were incredible beaters on the Gryffindor house team, when they attended Hogwarts. I have only ever seen two beaters who topped the Weasley twins, and they are Miss Summers and Miss Crawford."
Dumbledore turned serious. "Miss Emerson, I would like to extend an invitation to you to stay at Hogwarts. Professor Giles has agreed that with your past experiences you would be invaluable as a teaching assistant in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Would you be interested in accepting the position?"
Anya smiled and threw her arms around the old headmaster. "I would love to stay and work with Giles. He would be much better professor than shopkeeper."
Dumbledore continued. "I believe that I would be able to coax the castle into creating another suit of rooms near your friends, if you would like. However, you are welcome to stay with Mr. Harris, if you would prefer."
"It depends on what Xander wants," replied Anya.
"I want whatever you do," said Xander.
"Then, Albus, I will be staying with Xander," Anya declared.
"Very well. Have a very good night," said Dumbledore, a twinkle in his eye. He took his leave of the young couple.
As Xander and Anya walked back to the Scooby common room, he thought about what she had said to Dumbledore. "Anya, what did you mean about dinner with two couples. Fred and Angelina are definitely together, but George and Oliver?"
"Why is it that men always have issues with gay couples? It is so obvious that George and Oliver are together. Fred and Angelina know, but I got the impression that the rest of their family doesn't have a clue. Anyway, it was really nice spending time with other couples. Angelina suggested that we have dinner with them again some time soon."
"So, does this mean that you think of us as a couple, even after everything?" Xander asked.
"Well, of course, I did agree to live with you again, didn't I," replied Anya. "Unless of course, you don't want me to. I did put you on the spot in front of Albus. If your feelings for me have changed, you should just say so."
Xander opened the door to his quarters and swept Anya into his arms, carrying her to his bed. "Anya, I will always love you. We are destined to be together."
"I love you too, Xander," she replied. "Can we give each other lots of orgasms now?"